Law School Case Briefs

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Chao v. Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (2005) | 401 F.3d 355; 2005 CCH OSHD 32,746; 35 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20050; 20 OSHC (BNA) 2169; 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 2979; 2005 WL 399673

4 min read

TL;DR: An employer egregiously violated asbestos safety rules. The court affirmed an agency decision to consolidate multiple per-employee citations into single per-instance citations, limiting the Secretary of Labor's discretion based on the specific language of the regulations and the reasonableness of their application.

Legal Significance: This case clarifies the test for determining the appropriate unit of prosecution under OSHA regulations, holding that the regulatory language dictates whether violations are cited per-instance or per-employee. It also demonstrates the limits of judicial deference to an agency's interpretation of its own ambiguous regulations.

It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.

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